Snorkeling is the practice of swimming on or through a body of water while equipped with a diving mask, a shaped tube called a snorkel, and usually fins. The snorkel is a draw-type snorkel for use under water that includes means extending to the surface of the water to allow the user to draw air from the atmosphere with no means to supply respiratory gas under positive pressure as in scuba diving.
As described in the background of United State Patent Publication 20160107734, a traditional dry snorkel usually includes the following components: A. Air inlet: the user can breathe in and breathe out when the air inlet is above water while skin diving on the water surface. B. Tube: it has two parts, namely a hard tube and a soft tube. The basic length of the tube is 46-48 cm. The overlong tube may affect the discharge of carbon dioxide due to fluidic friction. The function of the soft tube is to adjust the angle of the snorkel with respect to the mouth conveniently whereby the user's mouth can feel more comfortable. C. Mouthpiece: A good-quality snorkel may set an inclined design to fit in with the mouth shape and the face so that the user's mouth feels less fatigued in the sport of skin diving. D. Discharging valve: It comprises a downward water outlet and a silicone membrane (similar to the cardiac valve of the heart) functioning as a unidirectional discharging element. It can blow part of water in the tube off via the water outlet very easily and prevent the seawater from entering the tube. E. Float valve: It is exclusive for the dry snorkel. When the air inlet of the snorkel is under the water surface, the float valve closes the air inlet to prevent the entry of seawater into the tube.
French Patent FR2720050 discloses an underwater mask and snorkel where the internal wall of the snorkel forms two tubes, and a square section tip has a valve for the discharging of air in the ferrule. A flexible joint fixes the snorkel to the mask which has a transparent plastics visor. The part fixing the snorkel to the mask has an opening joint allowing air expiration. A plastics projection directs inspired air through 180 degrees in the mask near the visor preventing formation of deposits. A flexible silicon hollow joint insulates the mask and allows expiration of air to the snorkel. Rubber fixing bands cover the ears and a part of the skull. An internal flexible silicon partition separates the mask into an upper chamber for sight and a lower chamber for breathing. There are two valves which open for air aspiration and close for expiration.
U.S. Patent Publication 2016/0297505 discloses a full face diving mask similar to FR22720050 yet addressing the drawback of the aforementioned French patent where the user over-tightens the mask attaching system, causing the hollow flexible seal incorporating the ducts to be squeezed against the face which will cause obstruction of the channel through which exhaled air flows 180 degrees around the sides of the user's face and into the exhaust channel of the snorkel disposed at the temple of the user. On the other hand, if the user does not sufficiently tighten the attaching system there will no longer be a perfect seal between the face and skirt failing which there is a risk that water might enter inside the lower or upper chambers, this being another undesirable problem.
The designs of FR22720050 and US2016/0297505 suffer from several inherent drawbacks discussed in further detail below. For example, both designs require that the exhaled respirated air flow 180 degrees around the sides of the user's face before reaching the exhalation chamber of the mask. This constriction of the exhaled air requires an increase in work in breath by the snorkeler. Moreover, the placement and design of the snorkel itself is prone to being inadvertently submerged. In addition, the internal flow of the inhaled surface air is restricted as it flows over the optical lens of the mask.
According to the various embodiments and improvements discussed hereinafter new and innovative full-face mask and snorkel designs and processes associated thereto are disclosed and set forth in the claims. The subject matter claimed herein is not limited to embodiments that solve any disadvantages or that operate only in environments such as those described above. Rather, this background is only provided to illustrate examples of the technology area where some embodiments described herein may be practiced and find certain advantages.